If I was starting out as a new app developer, I think I would look to another platform than iOS today. This pains me to say since I have had several successful iOS apps including one of the original iPad launch apps. You just can't trust iOS as a platform because Apple can and will arbitrarily tell you that an important feature of your apps must be removed. They don't even follow their own guidelines. Has Google ever removed an app from the Google store because it is similar to one of their own apps or features? I can't think of a case (none have appeared in the news).
Fine. Go and work on Android apps and see how well that makes you money.
Apple pulled the apps due to completely valid reasons, but yet cowboys like you would rather shoot from the hip than to take the time to understand what is going on. It’s obvious from your post history that you have an anti-Apple agenda.
Don’t y’all feel stupid now that the full truth is out?
That’s what happens when you let your hatred of Apple dictate your reaction, instead of relying on, oh I don’t know, FACTS?
Not at all. If Apple had mentioned the reason for it then there would have been no speculation. That said, what I and others previously said stands. Whether the app is violating Apple's arbitrary and extensive rules is besides the point, the point is Apple is removing apps that compete directly with their own features. Some of the devs said they weren't notified before that it was a problem, and their apps were removed with no notice. They shouldn't have been using MDM profiles, but Apple should have notified the devs and only after a reasonable period for the devs to fix their apps should they have been removed.
Also, if Apple are using private APIs that aren't exposed to developers to get the details for their screen time feature - and removing apps that use those APIs, then that's rather similar to the famous Netscape vs Microsoft case; albeit without quite the same undertones. MS were trying to block Netscape on their platform by changing and breaking APIs, Apple is essentially doing the same by disallowing access to the same APIs they use for their own feature.
Retailers like Target, Amazon, Walmart, Home Depot are free to choose what they want to sell in their stores to their customers and Apple isn’t? You think those stores don’t take a healthy cut? Those that think Apple’s behavior is monopolistic or anticompetitive don’t understand those terms.
MDM is for management of business or corporate hardware. Apple doesn't want to be the Nanny for developers and micromanage every little thing.
It's not about competition, there are plenty of competing apps. This is strictly a security issue. Going down the rabbit hole of semantics isn't going to change the reality.
MDM is for management of business or corporate hardware. Apple doesn't want to be the Nanny for developers and micromanage every little thing.
It's not about competition, there are plenty of competing apps. This is strictly a security issue. Going down the rabbit hole of semantics isn't going to change the reality.
I’m assuming Apple has a strict policy for MDM. So how did these apps get approved in the first place?
MDM is for management of business or corporate hardware. Apple doesn't want to be the Nanny for developers and micromanage every little thing.
It's not about competition, there are plenty of competing apps. This is strictly a security issue. Going down the rabbit hole of semantics isn't going to change the reality.
I’m assuming Apple has a strict policy for MDM. So how did these apps get approved in the first place?
I don't think it's a given that Apple's policy is strict. Most people in corporate setting understand the ramifications of adding a profile to your mobile device. It's the consumer that doesn't have much experience and it's not likely that many developers properly articulate what installing a profile means from a security standpoint.
I think this is good for all parties. Apple needs to have a MDM Lite solution with API that developers can leverage that restricts enough features to make it tenable to have a faceless company manage portions of your phone. This is akin to an integrator that can remote into your home and powercycle your network. They don't have access to everything just the core essential they need.
Don’t y’all feel stupid now that the full truth is out?
That’s what happens when you let your hatred of Apple dictate your reaction, instead of relying on, oh I don’t know, FACTS?
Not at all. If Apple had mentioned the reason for it then there would have been no speculation. That said, what I and others previously said stands. Whether the app is violating Apple's arbitrary and extensive rules is besides the point, the point is Apple is removing apps that compete directly with their own features. Some of the devs said they weren't notified before that it was a problem, and their apps were removed with no notice. They shouldn't have been using MDM profiles, but Apple should have notified the devs and only after a reasonable period for the devs to fix their apps should they have been removed.
Also, if Apple are using private APIs that aren't exposed to developers to get the details for their screen time feature - and removing apps that use those APIs, then that's rather similar to the famous Netscape vs Microsoft case; albeit without quite the same undertones. MS were trying to block Netscape on their platform by changing and breaking APIs, Apple is essentially doing the same by disallowing access to the same APIs they use for their own feature.
That case depended on MS being a monopoly and maliciously using private apis that would well be public. Apple has legitimate reasons to keep many api private.
Comments
That’s what happens when you let your hatred of Apple dictate your reaction, instead of relying on, oh I don’t know, FACTS?
No they don't due to Dunning Kruger Effect
Apple pulled the apps due to completely valid reasons, but yet cowboys like you would rather shoot from the hip than to take the time to understand what is going on. It’s obvious from your post history that you have an anti-Apple agenda.
https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/04/28/purged-screen-time-monitoring-apps-misuse-enterprise-tools-schiller-says
Also, if Apple are using private APIs that aren't exposed to developers to get the details for their screen time feature - and removing apps that use those APIs, then that's rather similar to the famous Netscape vs Microsoft case; albeit without quite the same undertones. MS were trying to block Netscape on their platform by changing and breaking APIs, Apple is essentially doing the same by disallowing access to the same APIs they use for their own feature.
MDM is for management of business or corporate hardware. Apple doesn't want to be the Nanny for developers and micromanage
every little thing.
It's not about competition, there are plenty of competing apps. This is strictly a security issue. Going down the rabbit hole of semantics
isn't going to change the reality.
I think this is good for all parties. Apple needs to have a MDM Lite solution with API that developers can leverage that restricts enough features to make it tenable to have a faceless company manage portions of your phone. This is akin to an integrator that can remote into your home and powercycle your network. They don't have access to everything just the core essential they need.